


Beautiful things

by Kitsuneredwolf



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Romance, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Canon Gay Character, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Gay Character, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Sex, Gay Shiro (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Shiro (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Love Confessions, M/M, Make up sex, Meltdown, Mental Breakdown, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Requited Love, Reveal, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, SHEITH - Freeform, Slow Build, Tragic Romance, Unrequited Love, argument, dramit build up, dramtic reveal, fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 17:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17370551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsuneredwolf/pseuds/Kitsuneredwolf
Summary: Keith is sick of Shiro trying to push the black lion on him, and he is convinced that Shiro is trying to check out on him. Keith speaks his mind to let Shiro know that he is not going anywhere, and with a slip of the tongue Shiro shares a thought of his own.If this gets enough kudos, I can take this to the next level XXX





	Beautiful things

**Author's Note:**

> This happens somewhere between the beginning and the middle of the series, I did not think about that before I started writing, so forgive me. This story came into mind because of my frustration with Shiro dumping responsibility randomly on Keith with out preparing him for it and Keith never got to get out how he felt. This is is my rendition of Keith having a breakdown. Shiro reacts too casually to serious situations sometimes when he should show an inkling of something, so I wanted a spark of that as well.

Keith, sat huddled on the bed. Legs tucked, arms wrapped tightly around, face buried in his knees. If he could shut out the world for just a moment this would be it. If the emptiness of space could seep into his room and swallow him into silence like water through a crack in a submarine he would welcome it. Anything but this. Tighter he squeezed as if trying to contain something from exploding, feeling the fuse becoming shorter and shorter, seething. “Shiro...why?”

As if hearing him, a knock came at his door. Three sharp taps. The sound of metal against metal. Then a voice, concerned and soft. “Keith?”

“Go away Shiro!” Keith spun on the spot slamming his feet on the ground, slapping a gloved hand on his pillow. He curled his fingers into the cotton like material, glaring at the back of his door. His chest started to heave, ears pricked waiting for Shiro to reply. A quiet moment passed, and Keith wondered if Shiro had walked away. With a shout the boy threw pillow toward the door. He then ripped his blanket off his bed and sent them directly to the floor. In his fit he barely noticed the hiss of the door opening. Two black boots stepped into his peripheral vision and his violet hues flashed up at the dark irises of the man who constantly threatened to disappear. “Didn’t you hear what I said!?”

Shiro put his hands up “Easy Keith, I just want to talk”

“You always want to talk Shiro! But it seems like all you ever say is that one way or another your checking out on me!” Keith threw his hands up and started pacing about the room, violent gestures telling a story of the beginning of their adventure up till now. “I am no leader! I am tired of you telling me that you entrust me with the black lion! The black lion is your lion! Not mine, yours! Nothing is going to happen to you! It can’t! I won’t let it!”

“But what if something does? You can’t guarantee that either of us will get out of this unscathed. This is war Keith. We aren’t in the simulators at the garrison anymore. He needs to go to someone I can count on, and that person is you. It’s always been you! I know it and the Black lion knows it too” Shiro felt himself raising his voice. He paused and took a breath and Keith ceased his pacing, he could feel the weight of the man’s eyes passing over his shoulder blades. Shiro’s voice softened “The team needs you... I need you. You may think you don’t have it in you, but you do. You are a natural leader, you have good instincts, as for everything else those things will come to you in time. We all expect great things from you.”

“Great speech Shiro” Keith spun on his heel squaring up his shoulders, his brow hanging low over violet hues. “Except the fact that it sounds like I am just supposed to wait for you to DIE!”

Shiro’s eyes fluttered, taken aback by the boy’s fierce words. Like a hammer striking steel, Keith stomped over to Man till they were only inches apart. The boy swelled trying to match Shiro’s size and presence. With a roar he tore his jacket over his head and threw it at the man’s feet. “If the only thing I am EXPECTED to do is out live you than I rather not even be here! Voltron is not Volton without you Shiro.”  
“Keith I know it’s hard for you to hear, but I am just trying to be realistic.”

“No, you are just trying to find someone to clean up the mess after you blow a gaping hole in this team. It’s like you're not even trying! It’s like you're planning on dying!”

“That’s not fair Keith.”

“No, what’s not fair is you making choices for me, putting burdens on me when I am obviously not ready! That’s not fair! You know what else isn’t fair?” Keith pressed his chest against Shiro’s Staring him dead in the face, defiance flaring in his eyes, with a spark of disdain “That we are risking our asses out there, believing in you, following your every order, we would do anything for you Shiro! We would even give our lives for you! But you are so obsessed to have one foot in the grave that you can’t even give a damn enough to fight for it!”

“What do you know what I give a damn about Keith!?”

The thunder that boomed from Shiro’s throat made the boy flinch. The sound rumbled his bones and shook him to his core. The man’s dark eyes glared down on him, over the deep scar that raked the bridge of his nose. Cold metal snatched at Keith’s shirt ensnaring a fist full. The boy grasped at the man’s wrist but it was like a steal bear trap. “I give a damn alright. I give a damn about every single person on this team, I give a damn about every person we are fighting to save, and I give more damns about you than anyone I have ever given a damn about in my life! So don’t you EVER say I don’t give a damn!”

Keith flushed red, hearing Shiro’s words. He must have misheard, or the man must have misspoke. It echoed his his skull like an empty cavern for all his thoughts dissipated. For a moment their eyes remained locked. Keith tried to seem unphased, but his panting gave him away. He tried to convince himself he somehow still had the upper hand, but his heels weren't even touching the ground. Shiro’s gaze was so intense that it was making Keith feel really uneasy, a side of the man he had never seen before. He averted his eyes downward trying to get Shiro to let go, making noises of complaint struggling to find his footing. Shiro heaved a big sigh with a small blush of his own, just now realizing what he said, hoping Keith missed it, he gently set the boy down. “There is nothing I wouldn’t give for this team, if that means my life I would gladly give it. It’s time to grow up Keith. I know that is a hard concept because you are young and you feel invincible, but that is just not the case.” Shiro lifted a hand, Keith closed his eyes waiting for his hand to ruffle his hair, but Shiro placed it on his shoulder. “Whatever you are feeling, let’s hash it out now. We need to keep our emotions off the battlefield if we wish to make it through this war. So do what you got to do. Push me, hit me, get it out. No hit backs, or hard feelings.”

Keith furrowed his eyebrows and curled his fists tightly. Shiro gave a soft smile thumped his chest with his hands, beckoning him, inviting the first shot. Keith felt his emotions swelling within him, seeing Shiro inviting his wrath with a smile. “AHHHG!!!” Keith yelled as loud as he could and roughly grabbed the sides of his head “I CAN’T!!!” The boy felt his knees were going to buckle with frustration, swaying as he writhed with internal conflict.

“Yes you can. I’m the champion remember? I’m tough, I can take it.”

Keith dragged his nails along his scalp has he struggled to slide his hands from his head, hunched with gritted teeth. “That’s not it Shiro, I can’t hurt you. Nothing to me is worth your pain!” His head snapped up throwing an arm to the side as if to deflect his words “And I mean NOTHING!!!”

“Keith, it hurts more for me to see you torturing yourself, than being hit. If it makes you feel better...” Shiro squared up “think of it like sparring. We have done this plenty of times before. So, come on tough guy. Bring it!”

“Shiro--”

“I said bring it!” Shiro reached out and gave a firm shove, causing Keith to stumble backwards. It didn't seem like much for the man, but being almost 2x Keith’s weight, and literally armed and dangerous, it made the boy seem all too weak for his own liking. Shiro advanced and pushed again, harder this time almost making Keith lose his footing, the screech of his shoe resounding as it barely caught him. Keith looked aghast, heat building under his collar.

“Shiro knock it off!”

“What? Don’t think you can take me on?”

“I said STOP!”

“Whatcha gonna do? Why don’t you make me” Shiro thumbed his nose “Or are you just gonna cry!”

“AAARRRHHH!!!” 

Keith rushed Shiro, low and to the center, planting hand firmly on the man’s torso. With a loud grunt he shoved him as hard as he could. Shiro stumbled backward, though still wearing a smile. Keith couldn’t stand it, he wanted to slap it right off. Shiro taunted again “is that all you got? Give it to me crybaby!”

Something snapped.

Keith shouldered Shiro in the gut, driving him to the wall. With a loud thud Shiro grunted with the impact. The boy grasped the man’s collar, standing on his toes to get up in his face. “I am not a cry baby! Not anymore!”  
Shiro lifted a hand and pointed at the corner of Keith’s eye where a few tears started to form. He smirked richly, leaning closer to the boy’s face. “Then what are these?”

A hand shot up, palm planting firmly on Shiro's face, driving his head back and pinning it to the wall. Shiro growled as his skull met the ship. “This is not a joke! This is not some teenage rebellion! This is serious!” Keith pressed harder “don’t you understand? You mean everything to me! Because I-..BECAUSE I LOVE YOU DAMN IT!” the boy froze. What did he just say? What the hell did he just say? ‘Do i really love him?’ His heart began to pound. He clasped his hand to his chest trying to make sense of what he just said. His other hand remained over Shiro’s brow, eyes hidden under the fleshy part of Keith’s palm.”Shiro I-” He felt a hitch in Shiro’s breath though he remained perfectly still. Was he mad? Was he disgusted? No cues were given for the boy to read. Swallowing hard he realized that this was why everything was so painful, nearly unbearable. A moment without Shiro was agony. Everything was now out in the open, exposed. Shiro had that effect on him, like an elixir he couldn’t have enough of. “I’m sorry…”

Just as those words left his lips he felt a hot sensation spilled from behind his fingers. Tears slipping down the slope of Shiro’s cheek and down around the angle of his jaw. Catching the starlight from the window, they fell to cold metal floor. The boy watched their decent and then looked back to Shiro’s face in devastation, still hiding behind his hand. “No…” The man half sobbed, causing a cinching pain in in Keith’s chest, each beat becoming more and more painful. He could hear the man’s heart fracturing like glass yet to break. “Push me.. hit me.. Crush me.. Break me… please let me… let me feel as hurt as you. *sigh* God…” The tears clinging to Keith’s lashes started to fall. Shiro brought his arms up, hands grasping his head for a moment before falling back to his sides. “I want to share in your pain…” His lip gave a subtle tremble as his breath shuttered against the boy’s wrist. “I don’t know why I thought...I was hoping in some foolish way you learn hate me. Make it easier on both of us but...What an idiot i was.. Thinking that I could bring myself to this point and stop feeling the way I do. Asking you to betray everything you believe about me.” Shiro’s voice started to break, the sound of shattering glass resounding in Keith’s ears. “I was trying to make it easier for you to let me go, but once again you save me. You always save me Keith… always” A quivering smile curved the man’s lips “and that’s what I love about you. Determined, stubborn, loyal, focused, and never gives up. I admire that so much about you. Watching you carve your path, and watching you move through the stars like a comet, is only the second most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life.”

Keith swallowed hard wondering what his next answer will be “ what is the first Shiro?”

Shiro gently pulled Keith’s palm from his eyes and looked into his violet hues, eyes glistening as stardust danced across the far window showering the room in blue green light. The boy held onto his breath like standing at the edge of a cliff. The man’s smile ceased its trembling as he now gazed upon the boy with the sweetest expression. One that only, in brief moments, Keith had seen. He took them for admiration and kinship before but now he could see that he was wrong. Shiro stood away from the wall and pulled the boy close, their eyes never swaying from one another “it’s you Keith”  
The boy placed a hand over his mouth and began to cry. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His legs started to give wanting to collapse with the overwhelming swarm of feelings, but Shiro threw an arm around him, supporting his lower back. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I adore everything about you, even when you piss me off It just makes me want you more. I love you Keith”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Your support is much appreciated. Please don't forget to leave a kudo.


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